Music: Ricardo Tanturi. Lyrics: Enrique Cadícamo

Argentine tango London | Sollozo de bandoneon spacer_small

With love being one of the most prevalent tango themes, it’s fair to say it’s been envisaged from every possible angle!

Most tango songs either express the emotions of the heartbroken poet or try and explain why he’s been abandoned. Some songs are quite direct, others use metaphors to express the poet’s emotions. Sollozo de bandoneon does both: the poet expresses his own emotions directly (“Tonight I have to tell you that I am love sick from loosing you”) and also lets the bandoneon express some of his personal feelings.

The very particular and sometimes strident sound of the bandoneon explains why it plays such a central role in tango music and universe: “Groaning like our hearts, the bandoneons cry their pain, the same as I sob theirs.” It is true that bandoneons sometimes sound like they’re crying – at least in melodramatic tango love songs.

Sollozo de Bandoneon has been translated by Tanguito, Argentine Tango Academy in London. If you feel have any comment or have other interpretations of the lyrics, please feel free to share your opinion, we’d love to hear what you think. 🙂

Nathalie, Tanguito
 

The music

The lyrics

Ven a bailar que quiero hablarte
aparte de tus amigas.
Quiero que escuches mi fracaso
y que en mis brazos el tango sigas.
 
Después de un año vuelvo a hablarte
y al verte me pongo triste.
Porque esta noche he de contarte
que por perderte sufro de amor.
 
Quien sufre por amor comprende este dolor,
este dolor que nos embarga.
Quien sufre por amor comprenderá el dolor
que viene a herir como una daga.
Te tuve y te perdí,
y yo que soy sin ti.
 
Quien sufre por amor comprenderá mejor
por qué solloza el bandoneón.
Con su gemir de corazones,
los bandoneones lloran su pena,
igual que yo sollozan ellos.
Porque en sus notas hay amores
y por amores hoy sufro yo.
Come and dance, I want to talk to you
away from your girlfriends,
I want you to listen to how I have failed,
and to stay in my arms for a tango.

It’s been a year since we last spoke,
and seeing you makes me sad.
Tonight I have to tell you
that I am love sick from loosing you.

Whoever suffers for love understand this pain,
this pain that overwhelms us.
Whoever suffers for love will understand the pain
that hurts like a dagger.
I had you and I lost you,
who am I without you?

Whoever suffers for love will understand better
why the bandoneon sobs.
Groaning like hearts do,
bandoneons cry their pain,
like me, they’re sobbing too.
Because in their notes, there are loves,
and because of love, today, I suffer too.